Quest 52Sample

What Did Jesus Say About Caring for Outsiders?

Jesus had been away from Nazareth for the better part of a year. When he returned home, he preached at the synagogue, as prominent visitors and rabbis sometimes did. 

Jesus rolled the scroll to Isaiah 61 and read verses 1–2. He picked this passage because it described his role as the Messiah. When Jesus finished reading, he rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the attendant. All eyes were fixed on him. Jesus looked out at the audience and said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). They were impressed by his speaking but unconvinced he was their Messiah. 

Jesus responded to their skepticism with a proverb: “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown” (Luke 4:24). Because his own people rejected him, Jesus promised that the good news he’d just read about from Scripture would extend to outsiders who would be more receptive to his ministry. 

He gave two illustrations to prove his point. Elijah was the most famous of all the prophets of the Old Testament. He raised a widow’s son in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8–24). That was in Sidon, outside Israel and among their most malicious enemies.

Elijah’s protégé was Elisha, the only person (other than Jesus) to heal someone with leprosy. However, the man he healed, Naaman, was a military commander in Aram, outside Israel (2 Kings 5:1–14). Both major prophets did notable miracles for foreigners.

This story offers three major insights into the Great Commission. First, the expansion to the ends of the earth was always Jesus’s intention. God has always been interested in outsiders. God’s goal has always been global!

Second, the preaching of the truth is insufficient if it isn’t undergirded with compassion for the poor. There is no authentic Jesus movement without releasing captives, relieving sickness, and reducing debts. 

Third, the concern for social justice almost always results in social tension. The episode in the synagogue ends with a shocking response from the people in Luke 4:28-30. Going to outsiders typically creates animosity. It’s part of the cost of being disciples of Jesus. If we aren’t ready for that, we dare not claim to be his disciples. And if our preaching isn’t good news to the poor, it isn’t the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

What happens when a church is concerned about spiritual needs and not social justice? What happens when a church is more concerned about social justice than spiritual needs?